Over 250,000 people in the U.S. have spinal cord injuries and there are approximately 11,000 new injuries per year. Persons with spinal cord injuries face many challenges that could be reduced with the appropriate equipment and resources. For example, passive standing is widely used clinically in both acute and chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) care. Further, people bound to wheelchairs need exercise. At a minimum, passive standing provides the patient with psychological benefits (such as being eye to eye with peers, not being looked down upon, having higher accessibility, freedom to operate in environments adapted for standing people, etc.), but it may also provide physiological benefits in preventing soft tissue contractures, bone loss, muscle atrophy, blood circulation, fatigue, digestion and excretion issues, etc.
Additionally, there are over 12 million Americans with different mobility limitations due to stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, ALS, traumatic brain injury, etc., most of whom require mobility assistance.
Currently available mobility devices do not address the many and varied needs of persons with mobility limitations.
Moreover, persons bound to wheelchairs face injuries and other morbidities associated to their use of wheelchairs. Manual wheelchairs, for example, lead to shoulder, elbow, and wrist repetitive strain injuries while powered wheelchairs lead to obesity and diabetes. Both wheelchair types are also associated with blood circulation problems, as well as digestion and urinary problems and pressure sores among others.
In addition to people permanently bound to wheelchairs, there are over 15 million people in the U.S., largely among the elderly population, with mobility impairments and limitations. Such population faces a decrease in autonomy and independence due to their reduced mobility and accessibility, and a general negative impact on their well being and lifestyle.
Another population segment that sees a negative impact in their health due to constraints in mobility are people who, due to their work or responsibilities, are required to spend a lot of time in either sitting or standing positions. The number of people in such situations are hard to quantify as there are no comprehensive studies done on this regard, but those numbers may over exceed the tens of millions of people only in the U.S. An example of such populations include assembly line workers, surgeons and other personnel in operating rooms, clerks, administrative assistants, security staff, museum workers, etc.
For all of the above outlined populations, improved mobility devices may be desirable and beneficial. Improved mobility devices may be further desriable that provide transitioning from sitting to a full standing position with a natural, ergonomic and physiological way; rehabilitation with a gradual sit-stand transition; omni-directionality that allows movement and transportation in any direction and rotations; hybrid drive/propulsion with both human powered and battery powered capabilities to provide the benefits of both modes while reducing injuries and morbidities associated with the use of only manual or only powered mobility devices; compact design that favors greater accessibility, mainly through narrow spaces, which can include three wheel structures; an adapting and morphing seat that adjusts to the user's body and needs with the capacity for orbital movement; suspension systems that absorb the impact of riding over uneven surfaces, and intelligence from a computer interface that can control the device with both hands-on and hands-off systems, and that can integrate any assistive technology, connectivity, sensors, communications and alert systems.